Grateful Hero 2: When Sparks Fly
by Alexia Dark
Summary: Alexia now fights beside SpiderMan, without him knowing who she is, but the arrival of a new villain might force her to make some important decisions... COMPLETE.
1. Default Chapter

Something about the full moon had always comforted Alexia. She liked to think that it had something to do with her childhood. As a child growing up in a poor area of L.A., she had often lain awake at night, prevented from sleep by the sounds of police sirens outside. On nights like these, she would stare out her window and gaze at the moon, its comforting glow lulling her to sleep.

"Statistics say that violent crimes increase during a full moon. And how couldn't they? The moon affects the tides of the oceans, and the human body is made of 70 water," her mother had once said.

'It's certainly true tonight', Alexia thought. She was sitting on one of the stone gargoyles of the Chrysler building, taking a moment to admire the view before she had to head back down search for more random crimes being committed. She'd already stopped three attempted muggings, a car theft, and a gang fight within the last few hours. It was a bit tiring, and was beginning to take its toll on her.

Alexia stood up and prepared to jump, deciding to go home and get some sleep. The world would survive without her until tomorrow. She dove off of the building, her braided hair flapping in the wind as she passed sky-scrapers and high-rise buildings. She was free-falling rapidly, waiting until just the right moment to launch a web-line and lean forward, her momentum carrying her upward as she swung toward her destination.

When she was less than ten blocks from her apartment, a strange feeling came over her, one that she had become familiar with over the past few weeks; it was her spider-sense, a tingling sensation that seemed to spread outward from the back of her head, a warning of impending danger. She followed her new sixth sense to a nearby ally, where she found the source of the danger; a small gang of thieves was attempting to break into a gun shop. She landed silently on a rooftop beside it. Two men watched as another thief worked on the lock, while two others stood guard with guns.

Alexia aimed her wrists at the men's guns and fired two web-lines, yanking the guns to her. She caught them and held them up.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to play with guns?", she taunted. It was the most cliché thing she could have said, but also the most appropriate. In any case, it was the little things like teasing criminals that made these little outings fun. She jumped down into the ally to face the would-be thieves.

"You shouldn'ta done that", one of them said in a think Brooklyn accent, advancing toward her, "Someone like you could get hurt doing things like that." As the others started to move toward her, Alexia backed up in mock fear.

"C'mon, you wouldn't hit a girl, would ya," she said, her back against the wall. The thug pulled back his fist to strike her, and she made no move to stop him. She stepped out of the way at the last second, and the man's fist smashed into the wall, breaking most of his fingers. He let out a yelp of pain, and Alexia elbowed him in the back, knocking him to the ground.

"I didn't think so," she commented, smiling.

At this, the other four thieves charged at her. She easily side-stepped their attacks, tripping one of them, and delivered a round-house kick to another one's face, causing him to fall and join his friend with the broken fingers. The one she'd tripped attempter to get back up, but she kicked him in the stomach, and he stayed down. The fourth thief ran at her, but she grabbed his arm with one hand and twisted it behind his back, pushing him into the wall, and smashed his head against it. He fell unconscious next to the others.

The last thief backed up toward the equipment he'd been using to break the lock, and picked up a crowbar, lifting it above his head.

"Don't come any closer," he threatened, though his voice shook with fear. Alexia laughed and took a step toward him. He stepped back.

"Sorry, but it's the superhero protocol. Play nice and I'll just tie you to a streetlight or something," she said. She started to walk toward him. He panicked and threw the crowbar at her. Alexia caught it with one hand, and bent it in half. The expression on the thief's face was priceless.

"Okay, that was NOT nice".

The thief started to run, but Alexia fired a web-line at his foot and dragged him toward her. He got up and tried to kick her, but she caught his foot and pushed him away. He fell into the window of the guns shop, and the glass shattered. An alarm rang out and the thief fell through the glass, unconscious, but Alexia caught him.

"Even better than 911," she commented, and dragged him over to his friends, then webbed them all to the ground. She stuck something onto them to let the police know she had been there; a card with a picture of a Black Widow spider on it, thinking it a little more creative than notes. With that last detail taken care of, Alexia scaled the wall and headed home.

"Hey Alexia," someone said behind her as she unlocked her apartment door. She turned to see Peter coming up the stairs.

"Hi," she replied, pushing her door open. Peter stood in the doorway as Alexia picked up her t.v. remote and absently began to flip through the channels.

"I haven't seen you around lately," Peter commented.

"I've been a little busy," Alexia responded, trying to sound casual. Peter's expression changed for a moment, remembering something, but then he smiled.

"I know the feeling," he said, amused. Alexia put down her remote and filled her kettle up with water.

"You're back earlier than usual," Alexia said.

"I need to get some sleep before Dr. Conners catches me falling asleep in class again," he said. "Besides, it looks like someone's got me covered tonight," he added.

Alexia followed his gaze to the t.v. screen, where a female reporter was speaking.

"Who is this new super-powered woman? A vigilante? A heroine? A bit of both? Behind me is Captain Stacey, with the men police believe had been prevented from breaking into a gun shop by the person the Daily Bugle has in recent days nick-named 'Spider-Woman', for obvious reasons."  
The camera panned back to where police were attempting to pry loose the webbing holding the 'suspects' in place. Alexia smirked as the strands they were holding dissolved, and one of the officers fell into the pile of thieves. New York's finest, indeed. The camera panned forward to the reporter again. She held up the card Alexia had left behind.

"The card I'm holding was found on top of the suspects. Perhaps an attempt to distinguish herself from one of the cities other costumed heroes, Spider-Man? The two have not been seen together since the fourty-third street fire where witnesses say they worked together to save eight people from a burning building. No matter that the public thinks of her, it seems that Spider-Woman is letting us know that she is here to stay."

The camera did a close up of the Black Widow design on the card before switching to the weather. Alexia turned off the t.v.

"Cards. Hmm. I wish I'd thought of that," Peter remarked. Alexia smiled.

"So, what's she like?", Alexia asked, curious to hear his opinion.

"I don't really know. I only met her once. She didn't say much. It's nice having someone helping me out, though. From what I've seen of her, she's an enigma wrapped in a mystery."

"Sounds like you," Alexia commented.

"Really?"

Alexia nodded. Peter stifled a yawn, his eyes tired, but happy.

"I'd better get some sleep, or I won't even make it to Dr. Conners' class. See you later," he said, and went to his own room.

Alexia closed the door after him and locked it. The kettle started to whistle, but Alexia unplugged it, knowing that she needed some rest, too. She had a lot to do the next day.


	2. Grateful Hero: Chapter 2

"I'm sorry, but I have to let you go," the woman said.

"What? Why," Alexia asked.

She had arrived at 'work', a photo shoot, ten minutes ealier, and had been directed to the owner's office. She had wondered why, but getting fired was the last thing she'd expected.

"Because you're too muscular. I don't know what you've done during the past few weeks, but it's changed your body structure. Our models are supposed to be soft and feminine. You don't fit that discription anymore."

Great. So the spider DNA had toned her up a bit, and suddenly, her employer thought she was She-Hulk. The greatest gift she'd ever received had just gotten her fired. Ironic.

"Fine," Alexia mumbled, and left the back area, not caring as she nearly knocked someone over as she stalked out of the store.

"Hey!", the man said, but Alexia didn't turn back. She was too busy thinking of a way to let out her frustration. Changing into her costume and kickng some bad-guy ass sounded like a good idea right about now. She'd over heard some thugs talking about a store being used as a front for-

"Hey!", the man called again, closer.

Alexia felt a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and grabbed the hand, using it to push him into the wall as she turned, pinning him to it with her other hand. The amn raised his arms in a helpless gesture, and Alexia stuided him. He was young, no more than two years older than she was, with hair a shade of brown so dark, it looked almost black, and emerald green eyes. He was about 6 feet tall, and well-built. The hand she was using to hold him against the wall rested on a chest made of solid muscle. Alexia suddenly felt embarrassed at what she haddone. This guy hadn't meant any harm, or her spider-sense would have warned her. She let him go, stepping back.

"I'm sorry. This has just been a really y day. Are you okay," she apologized.

"Nothing's broken, if that's what you mean," he responded with a bit of a smile. "Wait. Have I seen you before?"

Considering where they'd just come from, he probaly had. Her face was one of three plastered on the walls around the store.

"You're one of the models for that store, aren't you," he asked. Alexia nodded.

"Well, I was," she corrected him. "I just got fired."

"For what?"

"For not being 'soft enough'," she said. The guy smirked.

"Why were you following me, anyway," she asked. He held up a copy of her favorite book.

"You dropped this," he said, handing it to her.

"Thanks," she said. She started to walk away.

"Wait, I need to ask you something. I need to talk to someone that works at the store. You haven't met anyone named Alexia Dark, have you," he asked.

"That's me," Alexia replied.

"It's a good thing I found you today, then. The store was my last lead. You didn't leave your address at the university."

Before she could ask, he held up a Daily Bugle Press pass.

"I need an interview," he said.

For one terrible moment, Alexia thought that someone had figured out who she was. But the feeling faded. There were no cops, no photographers, no swarms of reporters. Just one. If this wasn't about her secret identity, what _was_ it about?

"Why," she asked.

"I got a list from the police last week. It had the names of everyone from the El-train disaster on it. I'm doing an article about it."

Alexia's face darkened, angry.

"Meaning, you're doing a slander article not worth using as toilet paper. No comment," she growled, walking away.

"It's not like that. It's just an interview. It probably won't even get published," he said, running beside her. Alexia stopped.

"Jonah will only use the negative ones, anyway," he added.

"Well, you won't find any. Spider-Man saved out lives, plain and simple."

"Even so, I need to hear about it from everyone. If not for the Bugle, then for myself," he responded. Alexia's anger went away as she looked into his eyes, sparkling with determination.

"Why do you care," Alexia asked.

"Because it's important to me." He paused, unsure. "And it's important to my uncle."

"What does your uncle have to do with- "

He lifted a finder to herlips, quieting her. THe action as unexpected, ad Alexia wasn't sure if she should force his hand away or...  
She stopped, recognizing her attraction to him. She'd been ignoring it before, to flustered to care, but this close to him... she reminded herself that he was working against her as she stepped back, turning her head away.

"What do you want to know," she asked.

"Everything. But this isn't te place to talk about it."

"Where, then?"

"Over dinner? Tomorrow?"

So he was attracted to her as well. She knew she shouldn't agree. He worked for a paper that wanted nothing more than to convince the city that she and Peter were criminals. But for whatever reason, this guy wasn't in this for the money, or to please his boss. He had a deeper connection to this, and Alexia wanted to know what it was.

"Well," he urged.

"Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

Statistics say that most home invasions happen between 9 and 5. During his lunch break between classes, Peter had the opportunity to test this theory. After stopping two break-ins and an attempted mugging near campus, he finally headed back to where he'd stashed his clothes, checking his watch. He was late. Again.

He changed quickly and sprinted up the steps to his class, hoping that he wasn't missing anything important. As he approached the science lab, he sensed that something was a little strange, and as he neared the door, he saw why. The lights were off, and nobody was in inside. Then he noticed a note on the door.

'Dr. Conners will not be in this week. He sends his apologies for not informing his students ahead of time,' it read.

'Strange,' Peter thought. 'I wonder what's so important that he had to leave.'

As he left campus, he decided that he would take the day off, to just relax at home for a bit, maybe call-

Mary Jane. She was getting out of a cab less than a block away, wearing dark blue jeans and a long-sleeved gren shirt that went perfectly with her shoulder-length red hari. It had darkened since he'd seen her last, because she no longer had to lighten it for her role in 'The Importance of Being Earnest', which had ended it's run on Broadway several weeks before.

Peter walked toward her as the cabbie drove off, his heart skipping a beat as MJ saw him and smiled.

"Arent you supposed to be in class," she asked, taking one of his hands in hers.

"Dr. Conners cancelled classes for the week," Peter responded.

"That's great. Maybe we can spend some more time together." Her expression and tone becamse serious as she added, "I've missed you, Peter."

"I've missed you, too," Peter said.

Their lips met for an intense but brief kiss. When they parted, MJ said, "I was just heading for an audition a few blocks from here. Want to walk with me?"

"Sure."

But as they walked, MJ seemed distracted, and a few times Peter thought that she was going to say something, but she remained silent. When they stopped in front of the audition building, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

MJ looked down, trying to figure out what to say.

"I called OsCorp today. They said that Harry hasn't been to work in over a month. I'm worried about him, Peter."

Peter looked away with a sigh.

"I am too, but there's nothing I can do about it."

MJ looked into his eyes.

"You could talk to him".

"Talk to him," Peter said, disbelieving. "MJ, I don't think he'll listen to me. I lied to him for years-"

"You had a good reason."

"But Harry won't see it that way. He'll just see Spider-Man with his father's dead body."

"You don't know that. It's been over a month. Maybe he's dealt with it-"

"Or maybe he hasn't, and seeing me will only cause him to freak out," Peter said.

"But you won't know unless you try. Call him and tell him you're coming to talk to him, and if he's still there when you arrive, fine. And if he's not... " MJ shrugged.

Peter thoght about it. It made sense; if Harry was readyto talk, then he would. And if he wasn't, Peter wouldn't force it on him. No harm done either way.

"I guess you're right. I'll give him a call tonight, and go over tomorrow. But I don't have his phone number."

MJ rummaged around in her purse and produced a card with Harry's home number on it, and handed it to him.

"Promise you'll call him," she asked.

"Promise," Peter said.

Mj kissed him on the cheek as she opened the door to the audition building, looking back at him before going inside.

"Everyone needs a friend, Peter. You, me, Harry. Don't deny yourself that," she said purposefully. Peter nodded his understanding. MJ smiled.

"Catch ya later, Tiger," she said, and went inside.


	4. Chapter 4

The alarms rang loudly a few blocks from where Spider-Woman sat perched on the edge of a rooftop, soon followed by police sirens. She stood up as the cars passed under her, diving into the traffic and swinging after them. She landed on a flagpole as the police cars pulled up in front of a bank, the street already crowded with S.W.A.T. trucks, ambulances, and curious onlookers.

"Haven't seen you in a while," said someone nearby. She looked up to see Spider-Man on the rooftop above her.

"Well, it's not that often that someone's stupid enough to rob a bank in broad daylight, or we might see each other more often," she replied.

They both turned toward the bank as they heard the sound of gunfire. They exchanged a 'look', which because they were wearing masks, was prortrayed through body language. As Spider-Man prepared to jump, Alexia held onto the flagpole and swung on it like an acrobat, gaining momentum, then let go. Both of them swung around to the back of the bank, hoping that the robbers hadn't seen them. The back door was made of enforced steel and didn't have a door handle. Spider-Man studied it.

"Maybe if I can get my fingers around the edges...," he thought out loud.

Spider-Woman backed up a few steps, and with super-humen strength and speed, shouldered the door. It nearly collapsed on itself, and she ripped it from it's hinges, creating a loud screeching sound.

"Think you could have made more noise," Spider-Man teased as she set it against the wall. She shrugged and went inside. Spider-Man followed.

They were standing in the loading area behind the bank vault. Alexia stepped beside the doorway and peeked inside. Two men were bent over, stuffing money into duffel bags, their backs turned.

"I think they've got some gold coins stashed in the back room. I'm going to look for them," said one of them.

Both spider-people flattened themselves against the walls on either side of the door, waiting. Alexia pointed to herself as if to say 'mine', and Peter nodded. As the thief walked into the room, Alexia pulled him to the side and pushed him into the wall, firing two web-lines; one at his mouth to keep him quiet, and one to stick him to the wall.

"Hey, Jack, they've got gold bars in here. I'm gonna need some help with this," called the other thief. Jack grunted in frustration.

"Jack," the thief repeated. He stepped out of the vault, and Spider-Man repeated what Alexia had done.

They entered the vault carefully, looking into the lobby. Seven armed robbers were holding people hostage. One of them stood in the doorway with one of the bank tellers, making sure that the cops couldn't get in. Alexia looked at Peter, and held up her hand, silently counting to three with her fingers.

At the count of three, they ran into the room, taking the thieves by surprise. Alexia kicked one of them in the back as Peter pulled the guns out of two of the thieve's hands with web-lines, punched one of them in the face and flipped the other one over the teller's counter. Alexia back-flipped out of the way as two them shot at her, and knocked their heads together as she jumped over them. Peter dodged an attack and delivered a kick to the robber's face. The last gunman, in the doorway, reluctantly turned to see what was going on. Alexia kicked the gun out of his hand, and the hostage ran to the police. The thief swung at her. She ducked and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying into the nearest police car. The cops surrounded him and put him in hand cuffs. When they turned back, Peter and Alexia were gone.

On a rooftop a few buildings away, Alexia crossed her arms and leaned against a wall.

"We make a pretty good team, don't we," Spider-Man said.

"We're a regular two-person S.W.A.T. team. Well, minus the 'regular' part," she responded. Peter chuckled.

"What's so funny," she asked.

"You. You remind me so much of myslef, it's strange," he said with an unguarded tone.

"I'll take that as a compliment,"Alexia said.

Peter sat on the high ledge of the roof, looking at her with amusment.

"That's quite an outfit," he commented.

"Says the man in red and blue spandex," Aleixa countered.

"It's not spandex!" He paused. "It's a lyrca blend."

Alexia laughed at this, and Peter joined her.

"So, what's your story? How'd you end up here," Peter asked.

Alexia decided to answer him truthfully. He didn't know about the accident, and couldn't make any connections.

"I was out shopping one day, and the guy in front of me dropped something. It was a ticket to the Columbia University Science Fair. I went to give it back to him, but he'd already felt. I had nothing better to do, so I went to the fair. While I was there, somene broke into the research labs. I followed them, looking for security. He attacked me and injected me with something from the lab. The next thing I knew, I was in the fair washroom. I went home, wondering if I should go to the hospital. I'd gotten a clear look at the label on the syringe, and looked it up. I'd been injected with a Black Widow's DNA. I wasn't about to go to the hospital after that and become a human test subject. I learned about my powers soon after and... well, some red and black lycra blend later, here I am."

"That's... interesting. I wonder what the thief was looking for."

"Probably something top-secret, or CNN would have said what it was."

Alexia suddenly pulled off one of her gloves to check her watch.

"I have to go. I have a non-life-threatening obligation to attend to," she said as she slipped the glove back on. She had to meet Devon, the Bugle reporter, in half an hour. She walked to the edge of the roof.

"I guess I'll see you next time there's a huge, life-threatening disaster," Peter said.

"Guess so," Alexia said. She jumped off of the building and disappeared around the corner.

Back in his civilian clothing, Peter walked into a phone booth and dialed Harry's number. The answering machine picked up.

"Harry, it's Peter. I need to talk to you. I know that you probably don't want to talk to me, but MJ and I are worried about you. There are some things that... well, that we both nees to deal with. I'm coming over tomorrow. If you're there when I get there, maybe we can talk about what happened. If you're not there... I guess that'll mean that you're not ready to talk yet. I'll be there around seven o'clock at night."

He hung up and started to head back home.


	5. Grateful Hero Chapter 5

"I was starting to wonder if you'd changed your mind," Devon said with a smile as Alexia sat down in the booth across from him.

"Sorry. I got a bit side-tracked on my way here," Alexia replied.

When she'd gotten back to her apartment, she'd realized that she hadn't picked out anything to wear. Alexia normally didn't think about what she wore after she'd bought her clothes; almost everything she owned was black, with the exception of a few red shirt. But tonight wasn't a normal situation. Devon had invited her to one of New York's fanciest restaruants, and Alexia wondered how he was able to afford it on a reporter's salary. She wore a V-neck black dress that went passed her knees, and ankle-length high-heeled boots. Her hair was in a high ponytail.

"You look... like a model," Devon said awkwardly.

"I wasn't about to show up in a place like this in sweats and a tee-shirt," she said with a frown. To her, it seemed like the rich always a dirty secret hidden somewhere, and she'd always been distrustful of them.

"That was supposed to be a compliment, you know," Devon said.

"I'm just a little nervous in a place like this," Alexia replied.

A waiter came up to them, interupting the conversation for the moment. After they'd ordered, Devon pulled something out of his suit pocket, and set it on the table. It was a tape recorder.

"You don't mind of I record this, do you," he asked.

Alexia shook her head. Devon pressed the 'record' button.

"This is Devon Smith interviewing Alexia Dark about the El-train disaster. Alexia, why were you on the train," he asked.

"I was on my way to New York University," Alexia answered.

"Could you describe what happened that day on the train?"

Alexia closed her eyes for a moment, remembering.

"I was in the first car, near the front of the train. I heard a loud _thump _behind me, and turned to see what was happening. There were dents in the roof. I heard more noises from the other cars. We were all confused. We had no idea what was going on. All of a sudden, Spider-Man and Doc Ock were on the side of the train, outside our windows. They were fighting.

Doc Ock grabbed Spider-Man and smashed him through the window. Spider-Man got free and smashed through another window to get back outside. They fought some more. Doc Ock hid on the bottom of the train. When Spider-Man went after him, he climbed onto the other side and hit Spider-Man through the window. He was knocked off the train.

He came back a minute later, and Doc Ock grabbed two people from inside another car. I couldn't see what happened next; I assume that Spider-Man saved them. Doc Ock smashed through the conductor's car window and accelorated the train, ripping out the lever. I think that's when he left". Alexia purposely left out the explosion in the front car that followed, but continued.

"Spider-Man climbed to the front of the train, probably trying to figure out how to slow it down. He jumped onto the tracks to try and slow it down, but it didn't work. I pushed my way closer, into the conductor's car. Spider-Man looked around, then shot webs at the buildings around us, holding onto the ends. The train slowed down a little. But they just ripped bricks off of the buildings and fell.

That was when I saw it. We were heading toward the end of the tracks. If the train kept going, we would crash into the middle of the street. He started firing webs all around us, at any surface beside the train. I could hear him screaming as we slwoed down. We finally stopped a few feet off of the edge of the tracks. Spider-Man started to fall. The strain of stopping the train must have knocked him out. The conductor caught him, and we carried him into the train, setting him down on the floor.

Then Doc Ock came back, standing at the other end of the car. A few of us tried to stand up to him - I would have been there with them, but I was too far away - but he just pashed them out of his way. Then he lifted Spider-Man up, and took him away. That was the last I saw of them."

"What is your opinion of Doc Ock," Devon asked.

For a moment, Alexia's almost forgotten rage at the man who had endangered her life resurfaced. She masked the emotion quickly, focusing on the facts.

"He was a great scientist who made a terrible mistake, and lost his sanity as a result."

"So, you don't hate him?"

"Hating him would be a waste of energy. He's dead," she replied.

"His body was never found," Devon pointed out.

"He was swimming with a giant ball of fire. There's no way he could have survived. He's broiled suid. End of story."

"Okay. What's your opinion of Spider-Man?"

"He's a hero that helps people who need it."

"What do you think of the alligations that he murdered Norman Osborn?"

Alexia reached over and shut off the tape.

"Hey, what did you do that for," Devon asked.

"I won't talk about something that has nothing to do with me," Alexia said.

"Fine. You can just say 'No comment', you know," he replied, and turned the tape back on.

"I'll ask you a different question, but I don't think you'll like it any better. Do you think that Spider-Man would ever commit murder?"

"No comment."

Devon turned off the tape.

"Maybe I shouldn't have told you that you could say that," he said, then looked her directly in the eye.

"I need to know this. It's really the only question that matters."

"Why is this so important to you? What do you care about Spider-Man's involvement in Norman's death? This is supposed to be about the train wreck, not some dead scientist," Alexia said.

Devon looked away, his voice hurt and angry as he explained.

"That's exactly what it's about. It's the reason I took this job. Because of some dead scientist"

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

Devon took a deep breath, willing the tears in his eyes not to fall.

"When I was young, my father was never around. He was always on a business trip somewhere. He's the majority shareholder of Quest Aerospace. It was my uncle who raised me. He'd come over and help me with my homework, talk to me... he was just there for me in a way my father never was."

He paused, a single tear dripping down his cheek.

"A little over two years ago, my uncle, who also worked for Quest, was showing a government official a prototype for a one-person spacecraft. Just as the pilot was about to take off, the Green Goblin flew down and blew the place up. He killed my uncle."

They sat in silence for a moment, thinking about what Devon had just said.

"I'm sorry that hapened, but I still don't see what it had to do with Spider-Man and Norman Osborn." As soon as Alexia had spoken the words, she regretted saying them. She knew exactly what they had to do with Devon's uncle. But did he know? Could he have figured out the truth about Norman Osborn? And if he had, what did it have to do with the train wreck?

"After my uncle died, I dropped my science courses at the university. I'd always been brought up to be a scientist like the rest of my family, but I had never been interested in science. About a year ago, I heard that Jonah Jameson was looking for a reporter to keep track of Spider-Man's activities. I applied for the job, and I got it.

I thought that getting that job would be the best way to do what I'd promised to do the day of my uncle's funeral; that I would find out who the Green Goblin ws, and make him pay for what he did. But he'd disappeared almost a year before, and the only person who might have known what happened to him is Spider-Man. Since I can't exactly ask him for an interview, I thought it would be best to interview those who had met him."

He paused, looking at her.

"I really need you to answer, because if Spider-Man didn't kill him, that means that the that killed my father might still be out there. And if he is, I'm going to find him. Could Spider-Man have killed the Green Goblin?"

Now here was a terrible dilema. Alexia knew that Norman was dead, but Spider-Man had not killed him. If she said 'yes', maybe Devon would find some peace in knwoing that his father's murderer was dead. But if she didn't say 'no', she would be lying and damning Peter's actions, only helping the Bugle convince the city that he was a criminal. She decided to go with the truth.

"No," she answered.

Devon sighed, frustrated.

"But that doesn't mean that the Green Goblin is alive," Alexia continued, trying to comfort him," Maybe there was an accident-"

"People don't just disappear without a reason, Alexia. He was a homicidal maniac, and I don't think that anything less than death could have stopped him."

The waiter came with their food, but Alexia stood up.

"I answered your questions. I'm done," she said, and walked toward the door.

"Alexia, wait-"

She was already out the door. Devon apologized to thew waiter and ran out after her. She was just about to run into an ally to change when Devon caught up to her.

"I'm sorry for questioning your answer, but you didn't have to leave like that. What's wrong," he asked.

Alexia looked away. She hadn't run away out of anger at Devon, but at anger at fate. She couldn't be around him any longer. She hated to see the hurt in his eyes because she couldn't give him thew answer he needed, the answer he deserved. 'I care about him too much already', she thought.

"I don't know," she said with an exaggerated shrug.

"Did I do something wrong," Devon asked.

"You didn't do anything wrong. I just... I wish I could help you, but I can't."

"That's alright. I mean, you answered my questions."

Alexia nodded.

"I'd better be getting home," she said.

"I'll drive you, if you want."

"No thanks. I'll walk."

"You live on the other side of the city," he pointed out.

She wasn't about to explain how she had _really_ intended on getting home, so she accepted his offer.

"Where's your car," she asked.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up in front of Alexia's apartment. Devon followed her to the entrance, and grabbed her hand before she opened the door. She didn't pull away, but turned to toward him.

"Alexia... I'm not really sure how to say this. I've only known you for two days, but... there's something special about you. Something I've never seen in anyone else. I know that tonight wasn't what either of us thought it would be, but I want to see you again," Devon said.

Alexia didn't know what to say. She liked him, and wanted to spend time with him, but she didn't know how she could be around him knowing what she knew, unable to give him the answers he needed. She closed her eyes for a second, focusing on what she felt instead of what she knew.

"I'd like to see you again, too, Devon," she said.

Devon smiled.

"Would you like to see a movie next week," he asked.

"Sure."

"What kind of movie?"

Alexia smiled.

"An action movie."

"An action movie it is. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

Devon left, but Alexia stood outside for a moment, and wondered what she'd just gotten herself into. She hoped that she wouldn't end up regretting it, and went inside.


	6. Chapter 6

'You're weak, Harry. You always were. Get up. Get up and go face the world. Don't be a coward!'

Harry buried his face in his pillow in repsonse to the rude wake-up call from the deranged voice in his head, but it was a useless gesture. He dragged himself and headed to the washroom. After showering and dressing, he walked over to his liquor cabinet and poured himself a drink. He sat at his desk, where countless articles and pictures of Spider-Man had been less than two months ago. He'd thrown them out the day after finding out that his best friend had been Spider-Man all along.

'Peter Parker. Is he still your friend, Harry? Is my murderer your friend? You swore on my grave to avenge me, and yet Peter, Spider-Man, is still your friend? Even before you knew the truth, you hated him. You defended Mary Jane against me, and what did you get in return? Rejection.'

"He loved her first. It was her choice. She didn't reject me, she just did what she thought was right", Harry answered out loud.

'She rejected you, Harry, and you know it!', the voice screamed. But then it's tone softened, becoming familiar again.

'I'll never reject you, Harry. I need you. You're my son.'

"No I'm not! You're not real! My father is dead!", Harry yelled.

The voice changed again, but this time, it took on a strange tone, a mix of his father's, a deep, unearthly voice, and... his own.

'And why is he dead? Because of your 'friend'. He betrayed you. He betrayed your father. Norman offered him everything. Power. Greatness. And Peter killed him for it.'

"Shut up!"

'He offered the world to him. But Peter didn't want a partnership, an equal. He wanted to steal headlines. So he killed Norman, and then he was too much of a coward to admit it. Too much of a coward to accept the offer. But you're not a coward, Harry.'

Harry covered his ears. He knew what was coming next. What always came next.

'Join me, Harry. Stop acting like a coward and live up to your birthright. Don't you want it, Harry? You could have all the power in the world. You could win back Mary Jane. You could avenge your father. Take the vials, Harry, and join me. Become what I was, what we were; strong and in control.'

"And a murderer! I'll never be like you! Never!", Harry screamed.

The voice pulled away from his mind with an echoing laugh, fading. Harry downed his drink and poured another. As he sat back down at his desk, he saw that his answering machine was flashing. He pressed the 'play' button.

"Harry, it's Peter. I need to talk to you-"

"No!", Harry screamed. "Why can't everyone just leave me alone!"

Harry comtemplated smashing the machine, but the message was already ending.

"I'll be there around seven at night."

Harry looked over at the clock. It was 6:59. As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Harry dropped his drink, the sound reminding him vividly of the last time they had spoken.

"Who is it," Harry called loudly.

"Harry, it's me," Peter replied.

Harry suddenly got an almost uncontrollable urge to run. He wanted to leave. He wanted to run, far, far away. He wanted to be anywhere than where he was. '_Don't be a coward_', the voice whispered across his mind. He walked slowly to the door, his outstretched hand shaking as he reached for the knob. He opened the door.

There stood Peter, his expression wary but open. He looked almost ashamed to be there.

"Did you get my message," he asked, studying Harry for any sign that he should leave.

"About two seconds ago," Harry replied.

"MJ's worried about you, and so am I. Is everything alright?"

Peter's concern and friendliness caught Harry off guard. But then his anger at Peter for the lies he'd told him, the secrets he'd kept from him, returned.

"Is everything alright? Are you crazy? Of course everything's not alright! You let me believe that you were my friend, when you murdered my father!"

"Harry, I didn't kill your father-"

"Well, you did a pretty good job making it look like you did. If you didn't kill him, who did? What happened that night, Peter?"

"It was an accident, Harry," Peter said. He didn't know what to say beyond that; Norman hadn't wanted Harry to know about his secret life, and Peter wanted to honor that. Harry was out of it enough as it was. 'The truth would tear him apart', Peter thought.

"Okay. Fine. How did this accident happen," Harry asked bitterly. Peter looked away, refusing to answer.

"Why won't you tell me? You came here to talk, so talk. What happened?", Harry demanded. 'Why won't he tell me the truth? If he didn't kill my father, what is he hiding,' he thought. Then something occured to him. Peter didn't know that Harry knew about his father's secret. 'Is he trying to protect my father's identity? Why?'

"Is this about who my father was? Peter, I already know about it... my father was the Green Goblin. I know," he said.

Peter looked at him with disbelief. How could he have known?

"After you left, I was in shock," Harry explained. "Wondering how the hell I'd been so blind to what had been going on. I... I must have snapped at some point. I heard laughter. Someone was talking to me. I turned around, following the voice. I was looking in the mirror, but my reflection wasn't there. My father was. He was telling me that I was weak, that I was supposed to avenge him. He tried to convince me... I smashed the mirror. There was a hidden room behind it... I guess my father had used it as a workshop. Everything was there. Extra suits, gliders, bombs, detailed blueprints of everything there... I almost couldn't believe it at first, but it all made sense."

Harry looked directly at Peter, his eyes burning with tears.

"I need to know what happened, Peter. I have a right to know."

Peter took a deep breath. Harry already knew the truth about his father. There was no point in denying him the answer.

"I guess you could say that is started at Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't understand why he freaked out when he saw the cut on my arm, but looking back on it now, I know why; I'd gotten the cut from him only a few hours before. He'd figured it out. Later that night, he attacked Aunt May... but you already know about that. Since I knew that the Green Goblin knew who I was, I figured that he'd go after my friends next. I called MJ from the hospital, but he was already there. He challenged me to come get her. I met him at the Brooklyn Bridge. He held MJ over the side with one hand, and a wire connected to a cable car full of kids in the other, and told me to choose who to save."

Peter couldn't keep the anger out of his voice while describing this; the memory still hurt. He tried to calm himself down as he continued.

"I managed to get them to safety, but then he came back. He took me to a warehouse and attacked me. Then he threatened MJ... I couldn't stand the thought of it."

Harry's face displayed his anger as he anticipated what had happened next, but forced himself not to interupt.

"I fought back harder. But then he took his mask off. He claimed that what he'd done had been against his will, and asked me to help him. He said he'd been like a father to me, but I told him that my real father had been Uncle Ben.

"While I'd been focused on what he was saying, he'd flown the glider behind me. When I refused him, he made it charge at me. I got out of the way at the last second."

Peter was sad and apologetic as he said,"It hit your father instead. But just before he died, he said 'Don't tell Harry'. So I didn't. I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry, tears now streaming down his face, slowly lowered himself into a chair, looking down. He felt numb.

'So it was an accident after all', he thought.

'He's lying Harry! He's been lying to you for years! What makes you think that you can trust him now," the voice yelled. 'It doesn't matter how it happened. Norman is still dead, and it's still his fault!'

"No," Harry whispered in answer, shaking his head.

"What is it, Harry?", Peter asked.

"He's here. Ever since that night... he won't leave me alone".

'That's right, Harry. You're finally getting it. I'm a part of you now. The only way to get rid of me is to become me!'

Visions started to flash before his eyes. Dr. Stromm's dead body on the labratory floor. The board members, their bones crumbling to dust as they hit the ground. An astronaught and scientists at an Aerospace compound, blown apart. Bloody images and morbid thoughts raced across his mind. Harry stood up, screaming.

"Stop it! Why won't you just leave me alone!"

"You swore on your father's grave to avenge him, and here you are, talking with his murderer!'

"What's wrong, Harry?"

It was Peter's voice, but Harry couldn't see him. All he could see were dead bodies. The voice laughed.

"I have to go! I can't take this anymore!", Harry screamed, and ran past Peter, down the stairs. He slammed into Bernard, the butler, as he raced for the door.

"Are you okay, sir?", he asked.

Harry grabbed him by the collar, shaking him.

"Help me! Make it stop! Get him away from me! He's telling me to kill people," he yelled.

"Who is?"

"My father! He's here!"

Suddenly, Harry collasped on the floor, unconscious. Barnard picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1.


	7. Chapter 7

Alexia paced in her room, restless. It was only 8:00, and not much crime would be happening. Still, she felt the need to do something. She changed into her costume, looking around to make sure that no one could see her, and jumped off of her balcony. She decided to swing by Central Park; it seemed like something illegal was always happening there.

Sure enough, less than two blocks away from the park, she heard a scream coming from an ally, and headed in that direction. She assessed the situation from a fire escape directly above the scene.

"How many times have I told you, Angela? You can't leave me. We belong together," said a man about her age. He had dark, longish hair and a muscular build. His left hand extended to the wall to block the girl from leaving, and his right hand held a knife close to her face.

"Let me go, please. I'll stay, I promise," Angela begged, crying.

"I don't trust you. I saw you sneaking around with that guy from your class," he replied.

"He's just a friend, Max."

"And what did I tell you about having friends that I don't know about," Max asked menacingly.

Alexia decided that she'd had enough of this control freak. She jumped down behind him. Before he could even turn to see who was there, she grabbed the hand holding the knife and twisted, forcing him to drop it, and shoved him into the opposite wall. Although he was out of breath, Max swung at her. Alexia responded by blocking him and punching him in the face, harder than she usually would, and Max slumped against the wall, unconscious.

Alexia turned to Angela, who had sat down, crying.

"Are you okay," Alexia asked. The girl nodded slowly.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Alexia said, and helped Angela to her feet. Angela looked back at Max as they left the ally.

"It's okay. Everything's going to be fine," Alexia reassured her, and they headed toward the nearest women's shelter.

At first, Max wasn't sure where he was. He sat up slowly, his head feeling as though someone had hit it with a hammer. Why was he there? He tried to remember. Something was missing.

A glint of moonlight against metal caught his eye, and he reached toward, barely able to see anything in the dim light. As he picked it up and realized that it was his knife, he remembered what had happened. Max stood up, looking around. Spider-Woman was gone, and so was his girlfriend.

"Angela," he called. Where had she gone?

Max seethed with rage. Angela was his girlfriend. She belonged to him, and always would. She'd been stolen from him, but he would get her back. And if he didn't, no one else would have her, either. Max would kill her before he would let her leave. He couldn't live without her. He started to run toward the street.

"I'm going to get her back," he yelled as he ran across the road. Suddenly, he was blinded by a white light as a Mack-sized truck rounded the corner. The horn blared. Max put his hands up instinctively, and the large truck swerved, just missing him. It fish-tailed into a telephone pole, the back doors flying open, and barrels toppled out of it.

Max fell, scrambling to get out of the way of the heavy metal cylinders. One of them burst open beside him, drenching him in a blue liquid. Then he looked up at the truck and the telephone pole as sparks crackled and faded. The telephone pole fell onto the street, the power lines igniting gas that had leaked from the truck. The truck exploded as electric currents raced through the ground. Max felt a terrible pain for a moment, but then there was only darkness...

When Max woke up, all he could see at first was a pulsating blue light. He stood up, unhurt, and realized where the light was coming from; himself.

"What the-", he started to say, but stopped as he spotted a sign on one of the barrels beside him. It was labeled 'Biohazard'.

"No! What is this," Max cried. The blue aura around him brightened, and tendrils of electricity swirled around him. With a shriek of rage, he punched the window of a parked car, but before his fist could strike the glass, a bolt of electricity shot out of his hand. The car's windows shattered, and it was lifted into the air. In his surprise, Max dropped it. Then an idea came to him.

He manipulated another bolt to surround the car, lifting it high above his head. With a wave of his arm, the car flew through the air across the street, erupting in flames as it crashed into a building. Max smiled. This was how he was going to get Angela back. And then, he would kill the one who had tried to take her away.

He focused, drawing the electricity into himself. It drew back slowly, snaking up his arms beneath his skin toward his face until all that remained were glowing blue eyes that crackled with energy.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they had returned to normal. He walked away from the fiery street, a plan forming in his mind. Electro was born.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hang on, MJ!"

"You know who I am."

"I was in the neighborhood."

"I can't tell you everything..."

MJ thought about these quotes as she often did, trying to determine when it was exactly that she'd started to suspect the truth about Peter. She never came to a definite conclusion; it had been in the back of her mind for so long, there was only one moment that she recall clearly enough to remember what she had thought.

The kiss. Or rather, two kisses. That night in the rain when she'd rolled up Spider-Man's mask and kissed him as he hung upside down. It had been so bizarre, so uncharacteristically daring of her, that she still got a thrill just thinking about it.

And then there was the kiss in the cemetery, when she'd confessed her love to Peter, not knowing that they had been the same person all along. She remembered standing in the cemetery after Peter had left, her hand over her mouth as she realized how familiar the kiss had been.

It had felt so much like that night in the rain, and for a moment, she had been almost sure... but then her rational mind had kicked in. Peter had been turned down for Little League, for goodness' sake. He had been nick-named 'Puny Parker' for a reason. It couldn't be him. And so for two years, she had lived in denial of what she knew in her heart: the truth.

"Hey, you're that girl from 'The Importance of Being Earnest', aren't you," asked the blond-haired girl sitting across from her.

MJ was in a waiting room, about to have an appointment with one of New York's biggest modeling agencies. As much as she disliked seeing her face all over Manhattan, her acting career was on hold until she could get another part in something. But her audition two days before had been unsuccessful, and bills still needed to be paid.

"Yeah," MJ replied.

A few minutes passed in silence until the other girl was called into the office, and MJ was alone again. She looked up as the waiting room door opened, and a black-haired, blue-eyed girl wearing dark blue jeans and a black tank top entered. It was Alexia.

"Hi," MJ said, recalling the last time she had seen her.

"Hi," Alexia responded," I didn't know you're a model, too."

"I'm not, really. But I'm still waiting for calls from directors, and I have to do something in the meantime," MJ replied.

Alexia nodded.

"Have you seen Peter around? I was expecting him to call," MJ asked.

She hadn't heard from him since he'd promised to go see Harry. She really wanted to know what had happened. Was Peter just being his usual late self, or had something bad happened that made him unable to talk to her?

"I saw him yesterday," Alexia said. Did MJ know about Peter? She had gotten the impression that she did, but couldn't be sure.

'I'm probably just being paranoid', MJ thought, 'But why hasn't he called?'. She needed to talk to someone about this. And the only person available at the moment was Alexia.

"I'm worried about Peter. He was supposed to do something important last night, and I thought he would have called by now. I know he has responsibilities, but crimes don't last for 16 hours," MJ said.

'Yep, she knows', Alexia thought.

"Do you know who Harry Osborn is," MJ asked impulsively.

Alexia thought a moment. 'He was also the father of my best friend', Peter had said when talking about Norman Osborn. This was probably the friend.

"Norman's son," Alexia answered.

"He's Peter's friend... or was until a few months ago. I don't know. Did Peter tell you what happened after the train crash?"

"No. What happened?"

"I don't really know if I should tell you this... it's Peter story to tell, but he trusts you, so I guess I should too. After Doc Ock took him from the train, he took him to Harry. Harry... he'd become obsessed with his father's death. Harry's father... he was..."

"The Green Goblin. I know."

MJ nodded. Peter had told her more than she had known.

"Well, Harry had blamed Spider-Man. At some point, Ock had gone to Harry for more of that stuff to finish his experiment. Harry made him a deal: Spider-Man for the stuff. So Ock brought him to Harry. Harry took off Peter's mask just as Peter woke up. Harry sort of went in shock. Peter managed to get him to tell him where Ock had gone, but wasn't able to talk to Harry about what had happened. That's what Peter told me."

MJ looked away, thinking.

"Two days ago, I convinced Peter to go talk to Harry, to try to explain what had happened. Harry hadn't been to work in over a month. I was worried about him, and thought that if he and Peter talked, they might be able to resolve some things. Peter was supposed to have talked to him last night. I was sure that he would have called about how Harry had reacted. I wonder why he didn't. Did Peter forget? Did something happen to one of them? I wish I knew."

"I'm sure Peter's fine," Alexia said.

"But is Harry," MJ said, starting to cry.

"I'm sorry. I'm probably just being paranoid," she apologized, tears starting to drip down her face.

Alexia took some tissues out of her purse and handed them to her.

"No apology necessary. But you don't want to mess up your make-up just before an audition", she replied with a sympathetic smile. MJ took the tissues andcarefully dabbed her eyes with them.

"Thanks," MJ said, smiling back.

The waiting room door opened suddenly, and they both looked up. Peter stood in the doorway. He looked tired and stressed, walking over to them.

"I'm sorry I didn't call. I spent the night at the hospital," he said. MJ motioned to the seat beside her, and Peter sat down.

Although she wanted to hear what Peter was going to say, this seemed a little personal, and Alexia started to get up.

"I'm probably intruding. I'll wait outside," she said.

"No, no. Stay. I'd like you to hear this," Peter said. Alexia sat back down.

"Do you remember what I said about Norman's son," he asked.

Alexia nodded.

"I filled her in on what happened with Harry, Peter," MJ said.

Peter nodded.

"I went to see Harry last night. He was a little mad at first. He'd just gotten my message a few minutes before I got there. I didn't want to tell him what had happened to his father; Norman had asked me not to. He didn't want Harry to find out about his secret life. But Harry already knew. He told me that his father had kept a secret workshop hidden behind a mirror in the study. He discovered it that night after I had left. He told me that his father's voice had guided him to it.

"So I told him what had happened. It seemed like Harry had accepted what I had said, but then he started screaming. He said that the voice was back, that it wouldn't leave him alone. Then he ran off. I decided I should go, and left out a window. By the time I got back to my moped out front, police and ambulances were everywhere. Harry's butler was talking to the police. After the cops left, I asked him about what had happened. He recognized me from when I'd been there in the past, so he answered me. He told me that Harry had run into him downstairs, yelling that his father was alive and telling him to kill people, then collapsed on the floor.

"I followed the ambulance to the hospital. No one would let me see him, but I overheard two doctors saying that he might be going into a coma. I left for a bit, and when I came back, Harry had woken up. I heard him and the doctors yelling. One of the doctors ordered him to be put into the psyche ward. Then I left. It was about four in the morning. When I woke up, I remembered that you had an audition today, and got over here as soon as I could."

MJ looked shocked. She'd seen Harry depressed and angry, often telling her about how Spider-Man had ruined his life, but she couldn't picture what Peter had described. 'Oh, god, what's happened to him?', she thought. The door to the office opened, and the blond girl stepped out. A receptionist came up behind her, and the girl left.

"Mary Jane Watson," the receptionist inquired.

MJ and Peter stood up. Peter gave MJ a kiss on the cheek and said,"Good luck." MJ smiled, her tears dry, and went into the office.

"So what are you doing here," Peter asked.

"I'm auditioning," Alexia replied.

"I didn't know you were a model."

"Well, I was until a few days ago. I got fired."

"Why?"

"No reason, really."

Alexia looked away.

"Why did you want me to know all of these things about Harry," she asked.

"I don't really know. I guess it's because I've never had many friends, but I consider you one of them. And I just lost one," Peter replied.

Alexia nodded. They sat lost in their own thoughts for a few minutes, until the door opened and MJ came out.

"Well," Peter inquired.

"They said they'd call me within a week," MJ answered.

"Alexia Dark," the receptionist called. Alexia stood up.

"I guess I'll see you guys later," she said.

"'Bye," said Peter and MJ.

Alexia went into the office and closed the door.

MJ sighed.

"What's happened to Harry, Peter," she asked.

"I don't know. I wish I did," Peter said. He took MJ's hand, and she reached out and hugged him.

"I hope he'll be alright."

"Me too," Peter said, "Me too."


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm sorry, but even if she were here, I'm not allowed to give out information about anyone, clients or otherwise," said the woman on the other end of the phone.

Max slammed down the receiver, frustrated. He'd called her family, her roommates, and every women's shelter in NYC, but none of them would tell him where Angela was. He contemplated threatening some of them to get answers, but he didn't want to hurt Angela's family, and there was no point in harrassing random shelters. 'I guess I'll have to find a way to narrow it down', he thought. But first, he was going to use his new powers to get something else that he needed; money.

Max had grown up in a poor neighborhood, with a drunken, abusive father, and passive, accepting mother. His father was a religious man, but only because he had been brought up to be so. Along with it came another family tradition; sexism. Max's upbringing, combined with the overt media messages of the time, had given him a rather strange set of values. While he believed that women weren't any less intelligent than men, women were emotional and more easily controlled. Such was the case with Angela.

Max left the phone booth, his heart pounding with what he was about to do. If this worked, he could make a fortune. If it didn't... Max would deal with it if it happened. He darted across the street and ducked into an ally. One lone guard stood at the back entrance of the jewellery store, talking into his cell phone, his back turned.

"Alright, I'll see you there," the guard said, and hung up.

Max's fist sparked with blue lightning in anticipation. When the guard turned, all he could see was a flash of light before he was knocked backward onto the ground, unconscious. Max pushed him out of the way with his foot and turned his attention to the door. This was one of the best jewellery stores in NYC, and it's security system would be almost impossible to get through. Almost.

Max's eyes followed the wire that wound its way around the door frame, connected to an alarm inside through a box at the top of the door, which had a red light on it. Max knew next to nothing about security systems and devises, but he thought that maybe the electricity could disable the alarms somehow. He lifted a finger up to the box, shooting out a small bolt at it. There was a strange electric sound, and then the light on it turned green. The alarm was disabled.

Next, he pointed at the lock, the bolt he released acting like a heated laser, cutting through the lock until the door popped open. Max worked quickly, disabling the vault and jewellery case alarms, taking all of the cash and jewellery he could fit into the backpack he had brought with him.

When he was done, he exited through the back door and left the ally, making sure that the guard was still asleep. It had been easy. Too easy. Why should he stop with just one store? If they were all this simple to steal from... but he had to focus on finding Angela. He needed to find her. And he would, even if it meant hurting or killing anyone who got in his way. Then there was Spider-Woman. Max smiled. Next week, he would find her, too. Or better yet, draw her out. And he knew just how to do it.


	10. Chapter 10

The weekend had been blissfully uneventful for Peter. No gang wars, bank robberies, or high-speed chases, just physics homework and some time with MJ. But the new week had started, and he was once again short on cash. 'Time for a little trip to the Bugle', he thought.

The Daily Bugle building was loud and busy as usual as Peter made his way to Jonah Jameson's office.

"Hey, Pete. Pretty bizarre weekend, wasn't it," Betty Brant greeted him.

"What happened," Peter asked. Betty's phone rang.

"I can't chat now, but I'm sure JJ will fill you in."

Peter nodded and opened the door to JJ's office.

"Hi, Mr. Jameson-"

"Incredible! Fantastic! Amazing," Jonah said sarcastically, a copy of his own paper in front of his face. He seemed to notice Peter and put the paper down.

"A security guard for a jewellery store claims that he saw a flash of light, and the next thing he knows, the jewels are gone. Says it was aliens. What's next? Martians wearing fishbowls on their heads robbing mini-marts," Jonah said in his usual hurried voice, and laughed. Peter took his file-folder of pictures out of his back pack.

"Mr Jameson-"

"What've you got for me? More pictures of the webbed freak?"

Peter actually smiled at this.

"Better. Pictures of _both_ of them," Peter responded.

Last week, he'd borrowed some cameras from other students in his photography class, and set them up around the bank before he'd encountered Spider-Woman, and had gotten several shots of her throughout their meeting. Jameson snatched the folder out of his hands and flipped throgh it.

"Terrible. Were you shooting with your eyes closed?"

Nevertheless, he wrote off a check for $400 and handed it to Peter.

"You're lucky the girl's pretty, or I wouldn't be so generous. Keep bringing me pictures of her," Jonah said.

"But Mr. Jameson, I don't know if I can. I don't know where to find her," Peter said.

"Ask Spider-Man. I bet the two of 'em are dating."

"What? No. No, they're not," Peter responded.

"How do you know? Quit wasting my time and get going. I'm not running a little school paper here."

Peter turned to leave, but Robbie and a handsome, dark-haired man Peter didn't recognize walked into the room.

"Jonah, we just got a fax from the police department. There's a man in Times Square who seems to be blowing up cars with with electric bolts coming from his hands," Robbie said, with a bit of a sigh, as if saying 'What's wrong with this city?'

"Well, what do ya know? We've got our two freak experts right here. Smith, Parker, get going. I need pictures and reports, ASAP," Jonah ordered.

"Mr. Jameson, I'm only here to drop off a report-," the man protested.

"Oh, really? What's so important?"

"A date," the man said flatly.

"Your girlfriend can wait an hour. Both of you, get out of here," Jameson bellowed.

Peter and the man reluctantly left the office and started to leave the building.

"Well, I guess we're working together," the man said as they exited through the front door. "I'm Devon Smith," he added.

"Peter Parker," Peter responded.

"Do you have a car," Devon asked.

"No," Peter said. He'd left his moped at home.

"Want a lift," Devon offered.

'No', Peter wanted to say. But he couldn't just pull a disappearing act and somehow come up with pictures. He would have to ditch this guy somehow.

"Sure," Peter said.

They got into Devon's car, and as he drove toward their destination, he commented,"It's strange that I haven't met you before now."

"Why's that," Peter asked.

"Well, you take pictures of Spider-Man, and I write reports about him."

"What kind of reports?"

"Where he's been, what what time, who he was with, what he was doing. Not that trash that ends up in the articles."

Peter smiled. He liked this guy's attitude. Then he had an idea.

"You mentioned you have a girlfriend," he said.

"Well, not officially. I've only seen her twice, and once was for an interview. Do you remember the El-Train wreck," he asked. Peter's smiled faultered.

"Yeah."

"She was on the train. Her name's Alexia. Pretty name, isn't it?"

Alexia, going out with a Bugle reporter? 'Oh, god, please say she hasn't told him anything', Peter thought. He needed to get out of here.

"Yeah. I just thought of something. How about I take some notes for you, and you can go see your girlfriend," Peter suggested.

"You'd do that? Thanks," Devon replied.

"In fact, just drop me off here."

"Are you sure?"

Peter nodded, and Devon pulled over. They said goodbye, and after he was sure Devon was gone, Peter ran into the nearest ally to change. Alexia's strange relationships could wait until later. Spider-Man had a new super-villain to deal with.


	11. Chapter 11

Spider-Man swung gracefully above the streets, making his way to Times Square. He landed on one of the giant tv screens, and studied the scene. It was exactly as Robbie had said; a man was shooting lightning bolts out of his hands and blowing up cars.

The man was wearing a dark blue body suit with a light blue lightning bolt stretching across from his left shoulder to right hip, with a similar design on the arms. He didn't wear a mask; he didn't need one. His dark hair was tied back in a pony tail, and his face glowed so brightly, it was beyond recognition.

"Hey, Sparky, why don't you stop what you're doing and think about it? Why are you doing this," Spider-Man called. The man turned and looked up.

"The name's Electro, and I have no business with you," he replied, his voice sounding almost unearthly.

Spider-Man jumped off the tv screen and landed a few feet away from him.

"You walk into Times Square and start blowing up cars in _that_ outfit, and say it's not my business," Spider-Man said.

"I just want the girl. Where is she?", Electro demanded.

"What girl?"

"Spider-Woman."

Confused, Spider-Man said, "Sorry, you can't have her."

Suddenly, the electic aura around Electro shot out at Spider-Man, only his spider-sense letting him avoid the attack, back-flipping out of the way. Electro's fists glowed, waiting, but he was too slow as Spider-Man hit him in an upper-cut, sending him flying onto the roof of a parked car.

Electro got off the car, scowling but unhurt, and charged at Spider-Man, who easily dodged his blows. Spider-Man got behind up and attached a webline to his foot, then jumped, pulling Electro with him. Many stories above the ground, Electro burned the web off his foot and shot two bolts at Spider-Man, only one of which he had time to avoid. He crashed through a window and into a building.

As he started to fall, Electro shot two bolts at the ground, the force propelling him back up and through the opening Spider-Man had created. Spider-Man had been knocked into a plaster wall, and the dust caused him to cough terribly, the mask only making it worse.

Electro fired bolt after bolt and he was barely able to dodge out of the way. Finally, one bolt glanced off his face, setting his mask on fire. Just like that day on the train, there was no time to think. He pulled his mask off, coughing. 

Electro laughed as he came closer.

"Peter Parker," he said. The aura around his face faded for a moment. Max Dillon had gone to Peter's high school, and had graduated a year before him. Peter had seen Max on a few occations at the university. Once or twice, while MJ had been with him.

"Max," Peter said. The blue aura returned.

"Well, this is interesting. So the Midtown High science geek became a superhero. You'd better feel pretty damn heroic today, Parker. You know, my girlfriend is friends with MJ. She showed me her apartment once."

Peter glared at him.

"She's a nice girl. It would be a shame to lose her, wouldn't it?"

"What do you want," Peter growled.

"Tell Spider-Woman that I want to see her and repay her for taking my girlfriend away. She'll find me in front of the abandonned meat-packing factory on the East River. If you or the cops show up instead, I'll kill MJ. And just in case you try to warn her ahead of time, I'm going to go pay her a visit right now and keep her with me. I'll be there at 8:00."

Peter reached out to attack him, but he shot a bolt at the wall behind Peter. It fell on top of him, and Max took the opportunity to leave. Peter smashed through the wall and got up, screaming in frustration. By the time he got to the broken window, Max was gone.


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey. You're late," Alexia said as Devon got out of his car.

"I guess that makes us even," he responded jokingly. "I stopped by the movie theatre on the way here. Nothing but bad teen horror movies and the latest Adam Sandler flick. Probably not your thing, right?

"Right. So, what should we do?"

"I thought we could go for lunch and then go rock climbing over at this sports centre I go to sometimes."

Alexia smiled and resisted the urge to laugh. 'Sure, why not? Of course, I'll definitely have an edge on him...', she thought.

"Well, I'm not exactly dressed for it," she said, gesturing to her dark jeans and high-heeled boots."I'm going to go change. I'll be right back."

She sprinted up the stairs to her room. After changing into black sweatpants and sneakers, she grabbed her carry-all bag, which contained her costume. It never hurt to be careful.

"How do you manage to look so good in sweats," Devon asked as she came back out, then looked a little embarrassed at what he'd said. Alexia chuckled.

"It's a gift."

They got in Devon's car and drove to the cafe next to the sports centre, and bought their lunch. They sat down at a table and talked about school, politics, anything except how and why they had met.

"You know, this place has some great martial arts classes. I'm betting you're into that kind of thing," Devon commented.

"Not really," Alexia responded. Devon's eyebrows raised.

"You're not?"

'Careful. This guy's a reporter', Alexia thought.

"Well, I took this modern self-defense course back in L.A. I can't pronounce the name," she said. Devon nodded.

They finished their lunch and went next door to the sports centre. They were shown how to strap themselves into their harnesses, then approached the wall. Alexia was careful not to look too skillful or get too far ahead of Devon. At one point, Devon slipped on a foothold, and Alexia grabbed his hand to keep him from falling. They both laughed at his clumsiness.

"How many times have you done this," Devon asked.

"A few times," Alexia said. It was partly true; she rarely used her wall-climbing ability. It still felt a bit creepy.

When they were both done and had returned the equipment, Devon asked,"Want to go for a walk? Central Park is only a few blocks away."

"Sure," Alexia said.

As they left the building and started walking toward the park, Devon offered his hand to Alexia. She laughed and took it. It felt so nice being with him. She liked him. She really did. 'Could it work between us?', Alexia thought.

She wanted to think so, but there were so many secrets between them. Every time he mentioned his job, his family, or his past, she would have to lie, and he didn't deserve that. She wanted to be truthful with him, but doing so would put lives in danger. Peters. MJ's. Her own. Maybe one day, when she absolutely knew thatshe could trust him-

Alexia's spider-sense went off suddenly. Without even thinking, she pulled Devon into an ally.

"What is it," he asked.

Alexia was spared the need to answer him as a man followed them into the ally. He looked a bit menacing, and slightly drunk. He pulled a knife from his pocket and pointed it at Devon.

"Gimme your wallet," he said. Before Devon could respond, Alexia stepped in front of him. In one fluid motion, she kicked the knife out of the man's hand and kicked him in the face. Unsurprisingly, he retaliated by trying to punch her. She simply moved her head out of the way, perhaps a little too quickly, and hit him in the face. He fell to the ground, his nose bleeding. Alexia gave him an icy glare, and he scrambled to his feet, afraid, and ran out of the ally.

"That must have been one hell of a self-defense course," Devon said in an awed but suspicious tone.

"I still practice sometimes. This is a dangerous city," Alexia replied.

If Devon didn't believe her, he didn't say anything. They went for their walk, but mostly remained silent, thinking about questions that they would never ask each other. Finally, they headed back to Devon's car and drove to Alexia's apartment. They both got out of the car to say goodbye. Devon was reflective for a moment, hesitating.

"Alexia, I really like you. I had a lot of fun today. Well, except for the almost getting mugged part," Devon added. They both laughed at this.

"I'd like to keep seeing you. I really feel that there's something between us. Is there?"

Alexia nodded.

"I like you, too, Devon," she said. Devon smiled and took her hands, his eyes asking a silent question. They drew closer until their lips touched, and they kissed. They pulled away slowly, both of them smiling.

"So I'll call you tomorrow," Devon asked.

As Alexia answered "Yes", she saw Peter coming down the street. When their eyes met, Peter turned and jay-walked across the street, careful to stay out of Devon's sight. Alexia wondered why.

"Goodbye," Devon said.

"'Bye," she responded. Devon got into his car and drove away.

After the car had turned the corner, Peter walked back across the street toward her. He seemed different. Stressed. Tired. Almost angry. He looked afraid.

"A Bugle reporter. You're _dating_ a Bugle reporter. Why," he asked.

"It's not...," Alexia sighed. "He tracked me down for an interview about the train. At first, I refused, thinking that he'd twist my words. But then he mentioned that he had a personal connection to what happned. I believed him. He asked me out to dinner for the interview. I went, but I didn't tell him anything about seeing you. Then he asked me a question… that I didn't want to answer. He told me why he'd asked it. Peter, his uncle was at the Quest Aerospace compound when the Green Goblin blew it up. The only reason he took this job was to try and figureout who the Green Goblin was and make him pay for what he did.

"He... he thinks that it's possible that he's still alive. From what he's learned, he knows that you wouldn't have killed him. He's chasing after a ghost, Peter. But I really like Devon, and it hurts for me to lie to him. Right now... I want it to work out. I want to keep seeing him. I don't know if I can, but I'm going to try."

"So, you're dating a Bugle reporter, and you didn't tell him anything," Peter asked.

"Peter, if I had, you'd surely know about it by now," Alexia pointed out. Something else was bothering Peter, she knew. She could read him like a book. Peter nodded.

"Peter, what is it? There's something else bothering you, I can tell."

"Okay. I guess it doesn't really matter if I tell you now. Lets go upstairs first," Peter said.

His distrust hurt her just as much as lying to Devon did, but there was nothing she could do about it. She followed him upstairs, and after checking to make sure that Mr. Ditkovich and his daughter weren't home, Peter told her what was on his mind.

"Someone from my old high-school went on a rampage. He... I don't know how exactly, but he's able to control electricity, and use it. He was in Times Square a few hours ago, blowing up cars. I tried to stop him. He blasted me into a building and came after me. I tried to avoid him, but one of the bolts hit my face, and set my mask on fire. I had to take it off. He recognized me, and told me that his girlfriend knew MJ, and knew where she lived. He told me to find Spider-Woman, so he could 'pay her back' for taking his girlfriend. He said he'd kill MJ if I didn't find her."

Alexia covered her mouth. Max. 'Oh, . How did this happen?', she thought. But then her eyes hardened as Peter continued.

"I have to find Spider-Woman, but I have no idea how. I'll never get to her in time. How am I supposed to find her," Peter asked hopelessly.

Alexia looked down, then directly at Peter as she pulled something out of her purse.

"You don't have to," she half-whispered, holding up a card with a Black Widow spider on it.

Watching Peter's expression turn to shock and disbelief, she added,"If it's Spider-Woman he wants, it's Spider-Woman he'll get."


	13. Chapter 13

"Don't I look spify," Spider-Woman said as she and Spider-Man ran across a rooftop toward the docks. She was refering to the black insolating gloves she wore over her regular ones. Peter had 'borrowed' them from the science lab at the university, a precaution against Electro's attacks.

"At least yours match your outfit," Spider-Man replied as they lept onto a higher building, his gloves a sharp contrast to the red and blue of his costume. Spider-Woman laughed in return. It was 7:58.

They sped up, leaping off the building and firing identical weblines, swinging through the concrete canyons of NYC at an almost sickening speed. Finally, the abandonned factory came into view. They landed on a roof about as high as the factory, on which Electro stood. His electric aura flared, powering up.

"Where is she," Peter demanded, forcing himself not to jump across and beat the hell out of him.

"I thought I told you not to come," Electro replied. "She's safe. She's in the warehouse. You can get her after I've killed this one," he added, pointing a finger at Alexia. Peter's fists clenched.

"Can you go get MJ? I'd like to have a talk with this maniac," Peter asked Alexia.

Alexia nodded, preparing to jump past Electro to the entrance to the factory.

"Where do you think you're going," Electro demanded.

Alexia lept through the air, flipping over as she avoided a bolt Electro sent after her. He fired off a few more as she landed on the ground and ran to the door, but she was too fast.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man had started to close the gap between himself and Electro, punching him in the face as he turned back. He was knocked clear to the other side of the roof. Spider-Man walked toward him, as Electro stood up carefully, forming a shield around himself. It lashed out against Spider-Man as he neared, but he lifted a gloved hand, and the bolt was absorbed.

In the factory, Alexia found MJ hand-cuffed around a pole. She looked confused.

"Where's Spider-Man," she asked.

"He's preoccupied outside right now. Oh, god, MJ, I'm so sorry about this. I got you into this," Alexia said as she stepped beside her and broke the cuffs.

"How do you know my name," MJ asked.

"_You don't want to mess up your make-up just before an audition_," she replied.

"Alexia?"

Alexia nodded. She removed the handcuffs from MJ's hands.

"Let's get you out of here," she said.

As they left the factory, Alexia glanced up to see Spider-Man get hit in the stomach with a bolt, thrown into a car.

"On second thought, you stay here. One of us will come get you when this is over," Alexia said.

MJ nodded, frustrated but understanding, and sat down on a crate. She hoped they'd be alright.

"Hey, Max! I'm the one you came for. Come and get me," Alexia yelled, now on the roof behind him. Max turned and smiled. He streched his glowing hands out to the side.

"Before you die, where's Angela," he asked.

"Somewhere you'll never get to her," she answered.

Max's ordinary eyesight was too slow to see her move as Alexia pushed him off the roof, into the street. He landed hard, but the fall was cushioned by the shield around him. Spider-Man was sitting on the car he'd landed on, still recovering, but before he could go after Max, he saw a familiar car come up the street and park close by.

Devon stepped out of the car, getting his camera ready, and didn't notice that they could all see him. Max got up as Alexia jumped off the roof, but even with her speed, she was not quite fast enough. Max caught Devon in an energy field, not hurting him, but lifting him up.

"Set him down _now_," Alexia yelled.

"Or what," Electro asked menacingly. Devon fought inside the field, but it was no use.

"Or life in prison will seem like a walk in the park compared to what I'll do to you," Alexia threatened.

Max laughed, lifting Devon higher. In the split second that Max took his eyes off of her, Alexia barrelled into him, shoving an elbow into his stomach. But as he fell, his arms flailed, knocking Devon into a wall. Spider-Man ran over to check on the injured reporter as Alexia waited for Max to get up. To her surprise, Max didn't get up. He floated upward, hovering just above the ground, his head lowered. When he looked up, and when she dodged, he raised himself onto the roof.

Alexia wasted no time, jumping after him. Electro launched a flurry of attacks at her, trying to keep her away, but each time she dodged she got a little bit closer. With each blow missed, the bolts went into the street, shattering windows, and causing cars to catch on fire and explode. Electro was slowly forced toward the edge of the roof, just above the river. In desperation, he put both of his hands together, and fired a massive bolt of lightning at Alexia. Her body responded on instinct, knowing that there was only one way to avoid the blow. She ducked, but knowing that he would lower his hands, she kicked him in the chest.

He was thrown backward, crashing into the water. Sparks flew all over the place, crackling over the surface, becoming more and more rapid. Alexia could hear an unearthly scream as the water suddenly exploded upward, creating a deafening sound like thunder, then stopped. Alexia could barely hear Peter coming up behind her. He placed a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture, understanding. They stood silently for a moment, watching the bubbles disappear and the waves stop.

"Devon's alive, but he's hurt. I don't know how badly," Peter said finally. Alexia turned to him.

"MJ's waiting for you in the factory," she mumbled.

They both walked to the other side of the factory and jumped off. Alexia ran to Devon, kneeling down beside him. He was unconscious, but breathing evenly. She lifted his head in one of her arms and held his hand with the other.

"Oh, Devon, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault... my fault...," she said through a muffled sob, beginning to cry.

Peter and MJ approached them as sirens peirced the air. Alexia stood up, carefully setting Devon back down. An ambulance and a stream of police cars came up the street. A cop car stopped in front of them. The police officer pulled out his gun as he opened the door, but by the time he got out of the car, he was aiming at air. Peter, MJ, and Alexia were gone.


	14. Chapter 14

The lights of New York City glittered below Peter and MJ as they stood on the roof of a sky scraper, enjoying the view before Peter would take MJ home. Alexia had gone after the ambulance to see Devon.

They leaned against each other in silence for a minute, Peter maskless with his arm around MJ's shoulder, until he took her hand and turned to face her.

"MJ, I... it seems like every time we get close to really having a relationship, something happens to mess it up. This has been three times now that what I do has put you in danger," he said.

MJ wasn't sure what kind of message he was trying to get across. Was he breaking up with her, after all they'd gone through? It couldn't be. It would break both of their hearts, and he knew it.

"You said a few months ago that you knew that there would be risks in being with me, and that you wanted to face them with me," he said thoughtfully, but a smile started across his face.

"I think that after all we've been through, we deserve a little more happiness."

MJ's eyes teared up, almost unbelieving, as Peter slowly got down on one knee and kissed her hand.

"I know, I don't have a ring or anything to give you right now. I don't know if I can even afford a ring at the moment" - they both laughed a bit at this - " but despite that, I can't think of a better time to say this," he said, starting to choke up.

"Mary Jane Watson, will you marry me?"

MJ smiled so wide that it almost hurt, but she couldn't help it. A wave of happiness washed over her, so strong that it it became difficult to answer.

"Yes," she whispered, then a bit louder, "Yes. Of course I will, Peter."

Peter stood up, and the two nearly fell upon each other, kissing long and passionately until they were both out of breath. Peter held her in his arms for a long moment afterward, looking out at the New York landscape again.

'Mary Jane Watson-Parker,' MJ thought, smiling.

After a minute, Peter pulled back a bit to look at her.

"Think it's about time to go home," he asked.

MJ wanted to say 'no'. She wanted to stay right here on this rooftop with him forever. But the day's excitement and emotional rollercoaster was catching up with her. She yawned, nodding.

Peter stepped onto the ledge as he pulled his mask back on, and offered his hand to her. She took it and stepped carefully beside him. He put an arm around her.

"Hold on tight," he said. She held on as tight as she could, and they jumped. MJ screamed with fright at first, but it quickly turned into an excited laughter as she got used to being so high up, and they made their way toward her apartment.


	15. Chapter 15

Alexia woke up to the steady beeping of a heart rate monitor, and looked down at Devon, who was still asleep in the hospital bed beside her. She had spent half of the night worrying about him even though the doctors had assured her that he'd be alright, and the other half asleep in the chair beside his bed.

She yawned and stood up, stretching. After watching Devon breathe evenly for a minute, she went downstairs to the cafeteria.

'Calm down', she thought,'The danger is gone. He's fine.' But this provoked another thought; she had killed someone. A dangerous man that had tried to kill her, and it had not been intentional, but he was dead because of her just the same.

She honestly wasn't sure that she wouldn't have killed him even if she'd had a choice. The thought scared her. Maybe she should talk about it with Peter. He knew who she was now, and she no longer had to veil her questions as simply curiousity.

After finishing her breakfast at the cafeteria, she went back upstairs to Devon's room. No sooner had she sat down than she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said. Peter opened the door and stepped inside.

"How is he," he asked.

"He's got a broken wrist, a twisted ankle, and a concussion, but other than that, he's fine. He was lucky," Alexia replied. Peter nodded.

Alexia decided that she wouldn't ask about what she had been thinking earlier, not in a hospital in front of Devon. But there was something else she needed his advise on. A tear dripped down her cheek as she looked down at Devon, then back at Peter.

"Peter, I... I think I'm going to break up with him," she said.

"Why," Peter asked, though the answer was obvious; she didn't want him to get hurt. He'd gone through almost the exact same thing over two years earlier.

"All of the secrets I'd have to keep, the lies... I can't live like that. It's one thing to have a secret. It's another thing for your entire life to be a lie," she replied. "But you know all about that, don't you?"

Peter nodded.

"I went through something similar with MJ. I'm just sorry it took what it did for me to trust her," he said.

"MJ's not a Bugle reporter intent on getting revenge on a ghost," Alexia pointed out.

"But it's the same kind of situation. Do you trust him?"

Alexia sighed.

"I don't know."

"I can't help you. I wish I could, but you're right. MJ and Devon are two different people. It's your choice whether to stay with him and trust him, or to leave him. But if you do trust him and tell him everything, then it's his choice what he does about it," Peter said. Alexia nodded.

"Actually, that reminds me. I came here to tell you something else. MJ and I are engaged," he added. Alexia forgot her dilema for a moment and smiled.

"Wow. How did it happen," she asked.

"After you left, MJ and I stopped for a minute before I took her home, just sort of admiring the view. I'd been thinking about it for awhile, and decided that then was probably the best time to ask, so I proposed to her," Peter replied.

Alexia couldn't help but laugh. It was the most romantic thing she'd ever heard of.

"So you just got down on one knee and popped the question right there on a rooftop?"

Peter nodded with a smile. Alexia laughed again.

"Best of luck to you. I don't really know what else to say," Alexia said.

"How about 'I'll be a bridesmaid at the wedding'," Peter said.

"You're serious? I'd love to. When is it," Alexia asked.

"I don't know. We're still working on actually _getting_ an engagement ring."

They both laughed.

"Well, I'd better get going. I'll see you later," Peter said.

"'Bye," Alexia replied. Peter left, closing the door behind him. Almost as soon as Peter was gone, Devon stirred in his sleep, and opened his eyes.

"Hey," Alexia said.

"Hey," Devon replied. He looked around the room.

"You're going to be fine," Alexia said before he had a chance to ask,"But don't move your head too much. You've got a concussion."

"I remember something weird. Someone held my hand before the ambulance came."

"You must have been dreaming. I held your hand when I got here last night. That's probably what yuo're thinking of," Alexia lied.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Devon said.

Alexia looked away. If she was going to do this, it had to be now.

"Devon, I...,"Alexia started, but found herself drawn back to him.

"What?"

Alexia looked away again, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Devon, this... this can't work. I can't see you anymore," she said.

"Why," Devon asked.

"I just can't... there are just some things I need to work out, and... I have to go," Alexia said, standing up.

"Wait, Alexia. I don't get it. Can't we talk about this," Devon asked.

"I'm sorry," Alexia said, turning away and walking to the door.

"Wait! Alexia, don't go."

She didn't stop. Devon attempted to get up, but a wave of dizziness prevented him from doing so. He could only watch helplessly as she walked past the outside window, crying.


	16. Chapter 16

"Medication time, Mr. Osborn," said the male nurse carrying a tray, as he walked into Harry's room.

Harry sat up in his terribly uncomfortable bed, unrested. Under the top sheets were straps that stretched across the bed, the buckles at the end hanging loosely off the sides. He remembered being held down by them his first night there, dragged there kicking and screaming, the voice egging him on and calling him a weakling for allowing himself to be subdued.

He remembered how terrified he'd been as he was strapped down, faces resembling the Goblin mask everywhere, all of them talking at once, but all he could hear was the voice taunting him.

Harry supposed that he must have sounded crazy, and the morning after, he'd thought that maybe being there was a good thing. Maybe they could help him. But that illusion quickly faded; the taunts got worse, and more frequent. Without access to alcohol to drink his fears away, his mind had nothing to do except to think about why he was there. 

"What's wrong, Osborn? Your imaginary friend doesn't like the drugs," the nurse said. Harry didn't look at him, but took the paper cups from the tray and swallowed the pills, drinking water afterward, then allowed the nurse to check that he hadn't hidden them.

As the nurse started to leave, he said,"Hey, Osborn, you want a copy of the newspaper? Your friend Spider-Man made page one again."

Harry looked at him with an expression that said 'Go to hell'. The nurse did a double-take and cringed. Something about his gaze suggested more than just anger and insanity. The nurse had the feeling that he didn't want to know what it was, and left.

'Why do you put up with these idiots, these fools?', the voice said.

"Maybe if you stopped talking to me and left me alone, I wouldn't have to," Harry answered out loud.

'It doesn't really matter. You won't be here long.'

"What are you talking about," Harry asked.

'You're getting out of here, Harry. Soon. _Very_ soon.'

"We're about to land, Mr. Sinclair," the flight attendant said. The man in the chair opened his eyes and looked out the window. He felt a pang of homesickness at seeing the familiar New York skyline. He'd been away far too long, but he was home now. He checked his watch.

"Passengers of flight 779, Paris France to New York City, New York, we are about to land. Please secure your safety belts," said the pilot over the intercom.

Five minutes later, the man, wearing a tan trench coat and a black designer suit with a deep green tie, got into a limosine outside JFK airport. He was dropped off in front of an apartment building in the financial district. In his apartment, he saw that as he had instructed, classified documents listing the locations of several military warehouses had been set on the coffee table.

He walked over to them and picked up a file as he made is way to the almost wall-length window. He flipped through the file, closed it, and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number that belonged to a phone almost directly across from where he stood; Oscorp Industries.

"Hello," said a female voice on the other end.

"I'm back. Is everything ready," asked the man.

"It is. Welcome back to New York, Mr. Osborn."


End file.
